Posts filed under: Business

We’ve all been there. We accept a connection request from someone on LinkedIn who seems harmless enough, only to receive a sales page’s worth of copy (likely an automated message) approximately five seconds after hitting “accept.” It’s frustrating and may...

I see a lot of common marketing mistakes on LinkedIn. Faux pas ever-so-slight that those who commit them may not recognize they’re doing anything wrong. The only problem? Those marketers aren’t generating results. Keep reading if you want to learn...

To be successful in sales, you have to be genuinely confident … or a narcissist. I came to that conclusion as I was coming up with this article, not to promote being a narcissist, but to state what is. Well, I...

Chrissie Wywrot is a LinkedIn specialist who helps clients optimize their profiles and develop meaningful engagements through her company, e-Link. Dr. Paul Kearney is a biotech entrepreneur specializing in data science and digital health. Q: Why did you seek Chrissie’s...

While working with the talented Kate Ahl of Simple Pin Media (her successful Pinterest marketing agency boasts a team of 40), she mentioned to me a difference she noticed between Pinterest experts and LinkedIn experts. Pinterest experts, she explained, tend to give the same fundamental advice....

Back in the day, LinkedIn was intended to be an intranet of sorts … you were only supposed to connect with individuals you knew. Try to connect with someone “outside of your network,” and you’d get a not-so-friendly slap on...

A seemingly small change by LinkedIn has added significance to the first section of all LinkedIn personal profiles. What used to be a title-free section is now labeled “About,” providing direction to both the writer and the reader. Now, instead of mindlessly skimming someone’s...

Dare I say that many of us became entrepreneurs for the flexibility. So we could dictate our own professional lives and not have to answer to anyone. Why, then, do we continue serving a boss that isn’t there? It’s been...

Professionals and businesses pay to be able to search the 575 million profiles (260 million active) on LinkedIn, so it makes sense to put time (and maybe money) into writing a LinkedIn profile that will get you found. I have been writing LinkedIn profiles...

“LinkedIn doesn’t actually generate business, though, right?” You’d be surprised how many times I’ve been asked that question. It jolts me every time, because LinkedIn is my business. I’m jolted for the opposite reason when people are offended because individuals do generate business through LinkedIn....

If you have a sales team, there’s a good chance you’re engaged in cold reach-outs via phone, email, or both. Cold reach-outs definitely have their advantages as a cheap, direct, and effective practice, but how about diversifying your lead generation strategy?...

Are you a college student or recent college graduate looking for a job? Focus your attention on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has steadily grown into a networking and job-seeking powerhouse. More than 26 million companies are represented on the platform with more than 15...

Should you write your LinkedIn profile the same way you would write a resume or should you tell your life story? Knowing what to say within your LinkedIn profile is much harder than it seems. Sit down to start your...

There are certain LinkedIn profiles I drool over. Wait, wait. Don’t click away yet, hear me out. There are individuals on LinkedIn with such untapped potential that I want to shout (or type in a PM), “Just let me get...

Sales Navigator. Is it worth it? The short answer: yes. The long answer: before I dig in, let’s take a follow-your-own-adventure quiz. Question 1: Do you sell products or services? If your answer is no, Sales Navigator is not for...

Does LinkedIn confuse you? Overwhelm you? Make no sense to you? Let’s change that. If you’ve been avoiding LinkedIn, there is a good chance you have untapped potential. Whether it’s networking, selling, collaborating, or influencing, LinkedIn has something for just...

“You were right.” Coming from a Coach Carr (and coming from a family that considered “being right” the end-all, be-all), that was an incredible compliment. On Saturday, The ChadTough Foundation held the 5th Annual RunTough for ChadTough event. This was the first...

“LinkedIn is so overwhelming to me.” I hear that from many clients, colleagues, and friends who don’t know where to start when it comes to LinkedIn. How does being on the platform turn into a new job, sales, or key networking...

What is an accelerated sales cycle and how do you know if you’re one of the lucky ones who gets to use it? Allow me to explain. There are two types of businesses on LinkedIn: those who leverage a “typical”...

LinkedIn is a powerful, lead generating weapon. When used for good, it can open all kinds of business doors! Let’s start by talking about why you want to optimize your profile. First, it will help your exposure in SEARCH. If you...

It’s so simple, but it’s so true. Whether you’re looking to send an InMail message, a connection request, comment on a post, share in a group, WHATEVER IT IS … the key is to focus on the mutual benefit of...

When I was in the 7th grade, I joined the track team. I wasn’t given an event for our first meet until another girl dropped out. My coach asked if I wanted to take her place in the 1,600-meter relay...

Do you know LinkedIn could be a big lead driver for your business, but aren’t sure how to get started? Have you “tried a few things” but aren’t sure whether you’re headed in the right direction? I recognize a lot...

LinkedIn could be a gold mine for you and your business, especially if you are business-to-business and offer premium services. Unlike other social networks, LinkedIn provides the ability to talk to the decision-makers of businesses you are targeting. What’s more,...

This evening I was dropped off at the airport by my husband and three young kids – they are 7, 5, and 3. All three kids protested my departure. “Why do you have to go, Mommy?” asked my 7-year-old. Total...

I remember getting the call. I was confused. My husband was supposed to be in the air with the Michigan Basketball team on the way to Washington D.C. for the Big Ten Tournament. I picked up the phone. The wind...

I am asked a lot whether LinkedIn is the “right” tool for a B2B. My answer is almost always “it depends.” One thing that separates me from many other professionals is that I want the best for your business first, regardless...

I love lead generation. To me, it’s like a code to be cracked. I work with all types of businesses with many different goals to determine what marketing strategy and lead generation tactic will work best. That’s why it drives...

Becoming an entrepreneur is a vulnerable experience. We put ourselves out there as the product or service, putting a price tag on what we’re worth. It can be intimidating, especially for a professional athlete who has only done one thing...

There are countless tools at your fingertips when it comes to promoting your business online. From email marketing to social media, you could literally come up with dozens of ways to market your product or service. The million dollar question...

I don’t care if you rode the bench for three years at Nowheresville College. If you are (or were) a college or professional athlete, you can leverage it in business. This is something I am deeply passionate about. I make my living...

Are you considering cold reach-outs on LinkedIn for your B2B? In some instances, leveraging Sales Navigator to conduct cold reach-outs is better than using targeted ads: they are more personal and direct. My process is as follows: Search for your target audience...

The more advice I give as part of my B2B LinkedIn Lead Generation business, the more I recognize my advice could double for someone looking for a date. Let’s face it: both areas find us putting our best selves forward,...

Conduct a search on Google and you’ll find a million suggestions for selling yourself and your services. Sell value, go the extra mile, meet objections with questions, etc.It’s enough to get your head spinning. The truth is, the majority of...

As you look to generate leads for your business-to-business through LinkedIn, it’s important to take a step back and recognize the atmosphere in which you’re trying to reach people. There can be a lot of noise to get through when...

As you put together content to promote to your audience, you may want to hold all of your “good stuff” close to the vest. Giving away all of your trade secrets may seem counterintuitive. After all, if you tell everyone...

I was conducting lead generation on behalf of a client and received a response that made me smile. The individual said: I actually looked at your link because you wrote a very personal and to the point note. He went...

I love sales, and I’m good at it. But it wasn’t until recently that my “secret” to great sales came up in a conversation. It was actually during a discovery call with a potential client. We were going over my...

Once an athlete, always an athlete. From the time I was a child, I loved competition — playing basketball, volleyball, tennis, and running track in middle and high school. Sometimes I was the best (in middle school I would beat...

I engaged heavily in direct sales for the better part of a year in 2015. I was successful, building a good income through product sales. Recruiting, however, wasn’t my forte. Here’s why: I couldn’t bring myself to try to sell...

LinkedIn is an untapped resource for many entrepreneurs … how do you know if you’re leaving something on the table? It’s a question I’m asked time and time again. Let’s get started by gauging the value the platform has to...

Playing professional sports doesn’t come without consequence. The grueling schedule of college athletics means certain educational opportunities aren’t always available. Film sessions, practices, and travel leave little room for anything other than sports. There are many players who have done...

I was recently told by one of my entrepreneurial friends that my engagement on LinkedIn had inspired her to dig even deeper into networking within the platform. I was posting success after success connecting with influencers and potential leads and...

Pitching a story to the media is truly an art form. There are a number of components to consider from the individual writing or reporting your story to the audience that will be reading or watching it. I have pitched...

Many athletes struggle with capitalizing on their pro sports career when transitioning into business. They see what they did in the sports world as “no big deal” and that it’s “cheating” to allow it to give them a leg up....

There are a number of myths out there regarding professional athletes, most of which fuel bar talk among fans. These myths are irritating to professional athletes and many who work in the industry, myself included. But, as a professional athlete,...

Have you invested in Sales Navigator but can’t seem to generate any results? If so, ask yourself this question: Am I just going through the motions? Sales Navigator is an awesome tool for any business or entrepreneur looking to generate...

There are many degrees of “famous.” In fact, fame is relative when broken down. My die-hard sports fan of an uncle may know every player to don a Detroit Tigers uniform while my best friend from college may not know...

As an entrepreneur, it is critical to have a ‘why.’ What does that mean? Your ‘why’ is the reason you are doing business in the first place. It’s what fuels your fire and gets you up in the morning excited...

After optimizing your LinkedIn personal profile for inbound marketing, where do you go from there? Regardless of the option you choose, it’s important to know there will always be an associated cost. If you choose paid advertising, you’ll be paying...

Last week I wrote about not getting discouraged when your social media campaign doesn’t generate leads right away. Today I’m going to dig deeper into the reasons why. Before we continue, however, please know that the foundation of my business...

There is a big misconception out there when it comes to social media marketing: that it works instantly. True, you can instantly share to your social media channels, but that doesn’t mean you will generate immediate results. It’s what we...

There are a number of factors to consider when writing your LinkedIn profile: target audience, search engine optimization (SEO), and call to action to name a few. After all, you’re looking to convince users (target audience) to buy from you...

I was recently asked an eloquent question around LinkedIn: How do I get people to buy from me without being smarmy? Really a fantastic question … and I have an answer! There are three important steps to generating sales on...

It’s LinkedIn vs. Facebook … which social media platform is better for your business? The answer may surprise you. While the two platforms look alike (and many on LinkedIn complain Facebook-type posts are “taking over”), they each have distinctive drawbacks...

No, I’m not talking about posting endless selfies or chronicling your day in hour-by-hour increments. I’m talking about being real with your audience. To me, this goes far beyond what you put in a tweet. It’s a business philosophy. Let...

Passion is a way of life and business for me. One thing I’m very passionate about is being genuine and trustworthy as an entrepreneur. Businesses run by honest, passionate people are the ones others want to work for and with....

Back when I was still finding my way as an entrepreneur, I was between gigs and needed to bring in some cash. I opted for a multi-level marketing business, knowing that if I liked the products enough, I could sell...

I’ve had a number of entertaining conversations around the “Facebook pixel.” For those of us in digital marketing, it is an exciting snippet of code that unlocks a marketer’s dream of demographics, re-targeting, and warm leads. For those of you...

I am a huge proponent of personalizing your message for your target audience, but this is even more important for consultants. Consultants sell advice. It’s rare someone will pay a consultant for advice when they don’t know them from Adam....

Twitter is a fantastic business tool misunderstood by a lot of successful entrepreneurs. Yes, it can seem silly to summarize what you’re doing in 140 characters or less, but the platform has the ability to generate leads and publicity for...

Social media is incredibly simple. All you have to do is sign up for an account, type in your message, and hit send. Customers or clients will flock, right? Wrong. One of the biggest misconceptions about social media is its...

Any online promotional strategy should include an influencer marketing piece. What is influencer marketing? Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on using key leaders to drive your brand’s message to the larger market. Rather than marketing directly...

When you’re running a successful business, taking time to generate content is difficult enough without trying to create multiple forms of content. What should you create? Live Facebook video? A blog article? A photo? Where should you post it? It’s...

There are countless ways Facebook can help your business, but even the most intelligent entrepreneurs struggle to crack its code. While it’s simple to use, it can feel like you’re shouting to no one, pushing out post after post to...

Why do some marketing campaigns succeed while others fail? The fortune is in the focus. Throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if it will stick may ultimately get you to your goal, but it will be a painful process....

As I have immersed myself into a world of female entrepreneurs, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to have a woman-centered business – especially when it comes to look for new clients. Many female businesses have a strong...

Doing what works isn’t always easy. Or convenient. Or pleasant. As a digital marketing consultant, I sometimes find myself in a position of having to explain to a client why he or she should do something that fits within the...

This was the first week of the Social Media Success Summit and I’m having a blast! The idea of attending a conference in my workout clothes that I listen to on demand while driving was too good to pass up....

I spent the first decade of my career in a male-focused field where women were the exception, not the rule. I equated stereotypical masculinity with power and pushed down my feminine qualities in the hopes of getting ahead. Fast forward...

You want to work with everyone when you’re just starting out, but finding clients who value what you offer is critical to your success. Still, you want to say yes to everyone. After all, you need the money! Even in...

As a female entrepreneur, do you ever struggle with confidence? Does it eat you up inside, knowing you need to have it all together if you’re going to succeed in business? I totally get it. I’ve been an entrepreneur for...

As a successful business owner, you understand the importance of trust. Whether you’re targeting other businesses or individual consumers, you get that others invest in you because they know you have their best interest at heart. What you may or...

I just spent the past half hour combing through and updating my service pages. I haven’t looked at them in awhile and will admit they needed some help. Despite being a content and social media strategist, I have struggled to...

Dear Early Entrepreneur, This is not a post that will give you six easy steps to business success. It will not provide four tips to pricing yourself properly or offer three ways to cope with difficult clients. This, fellow entrepreneurs,...

I read and listen non-stop to articles and Podcasts about being an entrepreneur and freelancer. I know all of the tips or “best practices” for growing a business, being productive, and maintaining sanity. I understand the reason behind all of...

When you’re just starting out as a freelancer writer, it can feel like everyone you talk to is trying to get something for nothing. The stress over what you should charge is great; you don’t want to price yourself out...

I love Podcasts. Love them. When I’m in my car driving my kids to and from school (a 25-minute commute each way), I am always listening to a new show. One of my favorites is Smart Passive Income with Pat...

Definitely not. Though I should admit I’m a social media addict. It’s bad. My husband has to tell me to put the phone down, so it’s tough for me to understand why anyone wouldn’t want to use social media as...

No, I’m not young enough to use that phrase, but it feels right in this instance. I love Upwork for so many reasons. Having read a number of Pulse blogs on the subject, I’m not sure if I’m going against...

“How much do you charge?” This question is enough to send new freelancers into a tailspin. Does this inner dialogue sound familiar? “I have no idea how long this project is going to take … how am I supposed to...

You’re ready to work for yourself, you’re talented, and you know it. So then, why is it so difficult to narrow down a niche? I have worked for myself for more than two years and I can honestly say that...

My top product right now optimizes your LinkedIn profile to best represent you as a professional. But what do you do once your profile is exactly how you want it? Does the Field of Dreams model, “If you build it,...

Freelance writers and entrepreneurs need to stop looking at SEO as the final ribbon to tie around a nicely-put-together website. Yes, the process can be vast and complex, but it isn’t the huge undertaking it is perceived to be. There...

I help top-level professionals reconstruct and re-write their LinkedIn profiles to properly convey their personal narrative. The most successful people on this platform may be missing the mark because they aren’t properly communicating who they are and why they do...

Clichés. I don’t know if there is anyone who actually enjoys them. I have had the pleasure of working in both sports and business (sometimes at the same time) and, unfortunately for me, clichés run rampant in both. The phenomenon...

I recently wrote about why worrying is toxic for your productivity, something that resonated with many of you. I worry about finances and not getting everything done every single day, and apparently many of you do, too. But I also...

When you see a quote in two completely different places within a 12-hour span, it’s good to stop and reflect. For me, it has been Max Lucado’s quote: Feed your fears and your faith will starve. Feed your faith and...

My entrepreneurial journey has been anything but a straight line. In fact, the picture to the right is exactly how I would illustrate it. It’s been two years of twists and turns that have driven my husband crazy. It isn’t...

If there is one thing I’ve learned being a freelancer, it’s that you can’t stop learning. Being in business for yourself means there won’t be anyone around to tell you what to do and how to do it — it’s...